Today in History for Aug. 21, 2014

Marquis de Lafayette

Aug. 21–24, 1824 – During his extended tour of the United States, the Marquis de Lafayette traveled through and made stops in New Haven, Conn., Providence, R.I, Stoughton, Mass. and Boston, Mass.

Aug. 21, 1835 – Samuel McColl was commissioned for his third and final term as Monroe County’s Circuit Court Clerk.

Aug. 21, 1863 – Union militiamen attacked the farm belonging to Frank and Jesse James’ stepfather, looking for Southern conspirators.

Aug. 21, 1863 - In Lawrence, Kansas, pro-Confederate William C. Quantrill and 450 pro-slavery followers raided the town and killed 182 men. The group also burned 185 buildings before riding back to Missouri.

Aug. 21, 1863 – During the Civil War, a skirmish occurred at Maysville, Ala.

Aug. 21, 1912 – E.G. Stamps, the son of J.H. Stamps of Evergreen, was shot and killed by Samson Mayor Mizell.

Aug. 21, 1912 – Evergreen received its first bale of that year’s cotton from J.S. Johnson of China. It was purchased by Northcutt & Rumbley and brought 11-3/4 cents.

Aug. 21, 1914 – While passing through his brother’s yard on a Saturday night in Evergreen, Dan Bailey stepped on the decayed covering of an old well, which gave way, causing him to fall to the bottom of the well, where he remained several hours. He eventually managed to climb out of the well and suffered only slight injuries.

Aug. 21, 1929 - The Chicago Cardinals traveled out of town for training camp, becoming the first professional football team to do so.

Aug. 21, 1958 – The Evergreen Courant announced that the newspaper had purchased and installed a new printing press, a Heidelberg Platen Press, which was expected to allow the paper to “give faster and better printing service than ever before.”

Aug. 21, 1958 – Evergreen High School opened fall football practice on this day at five o’clock in the morning in preparation for their season opener on Sept. 12 against Atmore. Twenty-five players reported for the first practice under coaches Wendell Hart and Jeff Moorer.

Aug. 21, 1963 – Around midnight, a UFO was sighted near Ashton, south of Orlando, Fla., and appeared to be taking water from a lake. Later, around 3 a.m., another UFO was spotted above the trees at the roadside on U.S. Route 441, a few miles south of Pearson, Ga., at the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp.

Aug. 21, 1984 - Victoria Roche, a reserve outfielder, became the first girl to ever compete in a Little League World Series game.

Aug. 21, 2006 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 725th career home run.

Aug. 21, 2009 - The Dallas Cowboys played their first game at their new stadium in Arlington, Texas. During the preseason game, against the Tennessee Titans, the Titans' kicker hit the scoreboard hanging in the center of the stadium.